NORTHFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – 22News caught up with teams from the Connecticut River Watershed Council at the Route 10 bridge in Northfield near the Vermont state line. For the first, time, the teams are taking water samples from the Connecticut River throughout the state of Massachusetts. On Wednesday the teams took samples in Franklin County, Hampshire County, and Hampden County.

According to Andrea Donlon, a member of the Connecticut River Watershed Council, the teams are testing the water to check the river’s nutrient levels.The nutrient levels in the water determine whether the water is safe enough for fish. They have found “death spots”, meaning that too many nutrients exist in one area. The higher the nutrient levels are, the more dangerous the water is for fish. These death spots were found at the mouth of the Connecticut River at Long Island Sound.

“All of the Connecticut River drains into the Long Island Sound, and the Long Island Sound has been very low on their oxygen that fish cannot live in,” Andrea Donlon told 22News.

They believe the nutrients could be runoff from the factories and farms in the area.

The teams are taking samples in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire. They will have the results from these samples in a few days.